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Flying high Plant soars beyond Led Zeppelin
For The Prague Post April 7, 2005 Robert Plant was too busy to pick up his Grammy Award for lifetime achievement earlier this year. Instead, it was brought to him when he appeared as keynote speaker at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. Plant and his band Strange Sensation had other things to attend to — such as two tsunami-benefit concerts, and a launch party for the independent MAS label music cooperative in Plant's native Midlands. A good part of Plant's career over the past decade has been an attempt to satisfy the never-ending demand for reprises of his work from 1968 to 1979 with the legendary Led Zeppelin. With the formation of Strange Sensation and their 2002 release Dreamland, Plant sent a clear signal that he was ready to offer an updated, equally potent brew based on experimentation and the exciting finesse he brings to rock 'n' roll. Plant and crew were also busy putting the finishing touches on their new CD Mighty Rearranger, due for release in May on the independent Sanctuary label. "We are hugely proud of it; it's all original songs," Sensation guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Justin Adams tells The Prague Post. "You have the various elements — the rootsy folk elements, blues elements, the African elements and the cutting-edge electro — with a very organic, soulful mix."
Strange Sensation is a byproduct of brainstorms Plant had with bass player Charlie Jones, who has accompanied Plant over the years on both his solo work and pairings with Jimmy Page. Asked about this new direction, Sensation keyboard player and arranger John Baggot says, "It is a sort of democracy where we all form and contribute our musical tastes to the pool. We are inspired by Robert, obviously, he is a very inspirational character. But everybody in the group brings something different: Justin [formerly with Jah Wobble], with his African music, blues and world music knowledge; Clyde [Deamer, drummer] and myself from Bristol-based hip-hop bands like Portishead, Roni Size and Massive Attack; and Skin [Tyson] from a band called Cast, brings in his guitar playing." On top of all this, Plant adds one of rock's most distinctive voices and his knack for timeless and timely lyrics. On Dreamland's "Dirt in a Hole," when cascading guitars seem on the verge of going out control in response to Plant's call of "Precious boys so young and fair/ guarding castles in the air/ Pretty flowers in sweet array/ picked to die and fade away," there is no question about his sincerity when he told the South by Southwest audience, "I was compelled by the power of the music to say something." Fresh from their U.S. tour, Plant and his band are pushing a full range of rock idioms, from folk to post-world beat blues psychedelia, into fresh forms. No doubt there will be a few crowd-pleasers thrown in, with a fresh spin put on legendary hits. But fans who go primarily to see Plant and Strange Sensation revel in the past will find they have no shortage of reveling in the moment. As Josh Martinez of DMG (Dallas Music Guide) said of the group's recent gig at the Gypsy Tea Room Ballroom, "I didn't realize exactly how lucky I was to witness the show until it was over." Darrell Jonsson can be reached at features@praguepost.com
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The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
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